


Of Knights & Hairbrushes

by ravenhead (socksy)



Category: Fate/Apocrypha
Genre: Also kind of, Brother-Sister Relationships, Gen, One Shot, Parent-Child Relationship, Short, Short One Shot, kind of, mordred being a little shit as usual, shishigou is a good dad, the cat makes an appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-13 23:31:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11770737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/socksy/pseuds/ravenhead
Summary: Memories and the present and how they overlap sometimes.Gawain & Mordred, then Shishigou & Mordred bonding.





	Of Knights & Hairbrushes

_Crack._

Mordred panted with the effort of lifting the ax above her head and swinging it down to slice the log half as large as herself.

_Crack._ Dammit, it was cruel and unusual punishment being tasked with this. All she'd done was moon the sentry guard and call him a--

"Mordred," came a voice from behind her. "Come over here."

Gawain brandished a comically large hairbrush.

"The hell is that?"

The man didn't respond as he parked on an upturned chunk of wood and beckoned to the space in front of him. "Have a seat."

"What're you, my mother?"

"Your hair looks like it hasn't seen a brush in a few days."

The blonde tried running her fingers through her ponytail but couldn't get past the matted knots. He might have had a point.

"Try weeks. And throwing me into a hay bale pro'lly didn't help." she retorted as she dropped with a thud on the ground between his knees, facing away so he could get a good look at whatever her hair had decided to do today.

_"Probably,"_ he chided, like the older brother he liked to pretend he was. "And you deserved it for your little spectacle."

Mordred smirked. "Thought I'd shut up one arsehole by showing him another."

Gawain sighed as he began picking at the ends of her ponytail, trying to make some sense of the mass. "What have we talked about, regarding disagreements with others?"

"At least he shut his mouth."

Mordred winced as there was a sharp yank at the back of her head.

"Alright, so maybe it wasn't my _best_ plan. But he insulted the king and-"

"The king does not need you to speak for him." Gawain interrupted sharply. "And he certainly doesn't need you embarrassing us all like that."

Gawain couldn't see Mordred's face, but the young girl's shoulders sunk and she seemed to shrink even smaller than she already was.

"He only notices me when I've done something wrong. All I can ever do is get yelled at." she grumbled. She knew how petulant she sounded, but she couldn't help it. All she'd ever wanted, all she'd worked for was to be a knight, and now that she had a place at the Round Table it wasn't turning out how she'd hoped. The king was much harsher than he was made out to be, and rarely smiled - and when he did, it was never at her. Mordred was afraid of calling him unfair, but dammit, she was putting so much effort into this and she knew she was good. It would be nice to be recognized for her skill at least once, instead of being scolded and nitpicked for every little thing (barring arse-related incidents, the punishment for which she admittedly might deserve.)

Her thoughts were stopped by Gawain's hand clapping her shoulder. "All finished, that should be the worst of the tangles at least, but make sure to wash it today."

Mordred poked hesitantly at her hair. Not bad, it felt like hair again and didn't growl at her this time. She scooped it back up into a high ponytail as she creakily rose from her position. She hadn't noticed her limbs getting so sore from chopping wood since morning.

Gawain stood too, brushing off the wood chips that had fallen into his lap from Mordred's hair. "And please stop showing people your arse, I think you traumatized the poor man."

Mordred gathered a handful of the flakes from the ground and threw them right back where they had been on the other knight's tunic. "At least mine sees the sun once in a while, he'd have gone blind from the pastiness had he seen yours!"

Gawain grinned and bowed grandly, starting back towards the castle before turning back. "Want me to help with the rest?" he gestured towards the tower of logs still waiting to be turned to firewood.

"No!" Mordred snapped defensively. "I was given the job, I'll do it myself." She huffed as she started back towards the fallen ax. 

Gawain chuckled softly. "You're a good knight, Sir Mordred. Don't forget that."

The girl stuck her tongue out and made a rude hand gesture, but seemed to stand a little straighter as she went back to her duty.

_Crack._

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Mordred." came a voice from the living room. "Come over here."

Shishigou was sitting on the couch, wielding a hairbrush. The rain had kept the pair inside all day, and they were both getting antsy and irritable in the confined space of the small apartment. Mordred pouted at the prospect of sitting still for longer as she paused chasing the small grey cat back and forth across the floor and slinked around the door frame towards him. 

"Siddown." Her master was not one to mince words.

Mordred had insisted on keeping in her physical manifestation, saying she wasn't comfortable unless her feet were planted on the ground. She had a distaste for magic, preferring her sword to speak for her. Shishigou had relented, even buying her some clothes, scant as they were.

However, corporeal forms required maintenance and grooming, which didn't seem to be Mordred's strong suit. The blonde often went days without thinking to take a shower or change her clothes, until she downright reeked and the man had to throw a towel at her while pinching his nose and ushering her towards the bathroom. (Figuring out how to work modern showers had been almost as much of a trial for Mordred as getting her to take one was for Shishigou.)

"Your hair looks like it hasn't seen a brush in a few days."

A strange look flitted across Mordred's face, quickly passing as she silently took a seat in front of him, folding in on herself and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"Do your worst."

Shishigou suspected he'd hit a raw spot, the girl seemed to have a lot of those. He was quickly learning that to be with Mordred was to walk on shaky ground, and he had to tread carefully.

The man often had to remind himself that the creature in front of him was a Heroic Spirit, a dangerous magical entity whose full capabilities he didn't even know yet. Still, there were moments where the kid looked almost vulnerable, and he wasn't sure what to do for the few discreet seconds she'd turn her face away before bouncing back with a snide remark.

Still, it wasn't like he had any right to talk - he knew how gruff and intimidating he came off, he was lucky he'd summoned a Servant so compatible, albeit accidentally. He'd never, ever tell her he was aiming for her dad, and now that he'd seen the deceivingly small girl in action he was pretty certain he'd gotten the better deal. She was uncontrollable, but no one could say the scrappy little thing wasn't a damn good fighter. Besides, now that he knew Mordred he wasn't sure he thought the same way about the legendary king. Look at her, how could you just turn away a kid like this who only wanted your approval? It wasn't his business, but it still didn't seem right.

He didn't press any further as he began working the brush through the golden locks. He also decided against mentioning that she'd been giving him strange dreams again, involving knights and hairbrushes and chopping wood.

They sat in a silence that was somewhere between hesitant and companionable as the sound of the wind throwing a tree branch against the window filled the room. 

_Crack._

**Author's Note:**

> It's more Mordred! Slightly longer this time but not by much - I keep thinking it's my longest work and then seeing I barely cracked 1k words, oh well.
> 
> Mordred is such a great character and I love the dynamic between her and...just about everyone she interacts with. Apocrypha got me good.


End file.
